10.12.2013

Post Fontan :: Day 11 :: Rumor Has It

This is really kind of crazy, but today a rumor started here on 8D that little Derrick Carter may be on the way out of here!!

This morning during rounds they told us his chest tube drainage had gone down from 80ml per side to 40! How much he's allowed to drain before pulling the tubes is based on body weight, and Derrick's goal is 25-30ml in 24 hours. The surgeon on call isn't D's surgeon and the nurse said he was a little more conservative, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. As of right now he's not draining much at all! So....discharge should be Monday, but possibly even tomorrow!!

What?!?!

It was just a day or two ago that they were saying, "It will be a while," and now it could be tomorrow! We're elated but trying not to get excited about leaving tomorrow. It's really more likely to be Monday but I'll tell you it's just nice having an idea of when we'll be able to go home. Monday is perfectly fine with us!

Derrick has had a great day. Mr Luke and Ms Laura came to visit this morning. They were a lot of fun to hang out with. Mr Luke and Derrick had fun playing with his new remote control car.

A remote control car is a great toy for a kid who can't run around. However, for a kid who doesn't quite have the concept of driving and who tries to drive it from the bed when he can't see the car...in a room full of cords....it's a lot of work! He loves it though, so rescuing the car over and over and over and over, is what we've been doing. He stood up for about 45 minutes today playing with the car, and he sat on the couch for another hour. He's been up a lot and acts like he's feeling good. Still only Tylenol for pain and no mega tantrums like we had a few days ago. We like it! :)

Mamaw and Papaw came to visit today too. They brought D some very low fat spaghetti. He and JK loved it! He ate it again for dinner tonight. While they were here Justin and I got to go on a lunch date, which we thoroughly enjoyed, and they took the kids to the Atrium to play. They had a great time and when they came back in the room D crashed! He was pooped! He slept for a good hour or so and thankfully woke up still in a good mood.

Since the rumor of us leaving was circulating, JK went home with Justin's parents. She happily walked out with them as she chatted about being excited about petting Rufus, their dog. I think she's had her fill of being here, and since she was happy to go we were happy for her to go. I went to clean up the house we've been staying in and I'm back with the boys at the hospital tonight.

We're snuggling in, hoping it's our last night here. We love this place, really, we do. But tomorrow will be 13 whole days here, and that's plenty for us! :) We'll gladly come back to visit but we're ready to be HOME!

Thank you so much for your prayers for our boy! I am certain they are why he's done so well and why the drainage has slowed as quickly as it has. The staff has been amazed at the drastic difference...nothing short of a miracle!

Please continue to pray for this drainage. We appreciate it so much! :)